1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a wafer based optical chassis and associated methods. More particularly, the present invention is directed to protecting active elements in an optical system and realizing electrical input/output without requiring separate packaging.
2. Description of Related Art
Active elements, such as optoelectronic chips, e.g., light sources for transmitters and detectors for receivers, are typically housed in a transistor outline (TO) can. Such a TO can is typically made of metal, has a large form factor, involves an expensive serial manufacturing process and requires active alignment with external passive optical elements. This large form factor separates the active element from an external passive optic along the optical axis, resulting in the passive optic needing to handle a more divergent beam, rendering the optic bigger, thereby further increasing the size of the system. Additionally, the TO can has electrical termination concerns, limiting the speed of the active elements.
Current trends towards miniaturization have spurred numerous small form factor designs. Most of these designs are directed to integrating the passive optical element with some connector, separate from the TO can. While this may reduce the length of the system and simplify the manufacturing of the passive optical portion of the system, the TO can, and the problems attendant therewith, are still present.